and higher jobless pen fit claims because the economy appears to be getting weaker and weaker. we face tax increases next year. that's been noted by business. there have been some layoffs prior to those tax increases. and so the underlying trend may be up. it has been exaggerated by hurricane sandy. gregg: stu, things could get worse january 1st, when all of these spending cuts and tax increases happen. it is so-called fiscal cliff. put it up on the screen. 158 million americans would be affected by this. the average household, $3500 a year in tax increases. you're talking about 88% of the households are going to see tax increases. if i read the cbo report correctly, they say this will drive us right back into another huge recession, right? >> well you've got two cbo reports. the one you're referring to says, yes, you go over that fiscal cliff, massive tax increases and big spending cuts. you will go into recession. a separate report looks just at what happens if we raise taxes on the top 2%. just on the rich, the top 2%. if we do that, we lose 200,000 jobs next year. factor that into the
